By Peter Ovie Akus
SIR: The campaign for the creation of special courts to try cases of corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism should move to the incoming 10th National Assembly. It is unfortunate that despite the advocacy by the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, the 8th and 9th National Assembly failed to do the needful despite the fact that events in the country indicate the need for specialised courts.
Specialised courts will aid accelerated hearing and determination of cases. Today, when people are arrested for corruption and other allied crimes, the cases often drag on for many years during which the defendants will secure bail and roam freely in the society. Some of them attend parties and make posts on social media that portray them living a good life. With the humongous resources at their disposal, and the stalling of the case in court for a long period of time, they can compromise witnesses and other evidence that are necessary for a successful prosecution. This is the reason so many public officials who are arrested by anti-graft agencies often go scot-free because their cases are dismissed on technicalities. If we have a specialised court that disposes of all cases brought before it in 6 months, we can put a stop to this ugly trend.
Judges assigned to specialised courts will acquire the necessary expertise in that field of law. In most western nations, judges do not handle all manner of cases assigned to them. There are judges who specialise in one or more branches of the law. Some of these specialties of the law include crime, divorce, immigration, entertainment, business, civil rights, property etc. The net benefit of having judges who are skilled in handling cases of corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism is that they will be able to easily spot the shenanigans and coverups of those accused of such crimes, thereby making it faster to deliver judgement against them.
The case for specialised courts is obvious considering the challenges these three issues pose to our country. No doubt, corruption has remained a perennial challenge, whether under military or civilian administrations. Currently, Nigeria is ranked 154 out of 180 in the 2021 Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International. Although President Muhammadu Buhari made the anti-graft war a cardinal objective of his administration, the statistics reveal that corruption is actually increasing rather than reducing.
Drug trafficking and abuse of drugs, especially among the youths, is growing at an alarming rate and has become a menace to society. Most of the heinous and gory crimes committed by criminals and terrorists are done under the influence of hard drugs. According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC), about 14.4 percent of Nigerians are presently engaged in drug abuse.
The emerging trend of terrorism across the country is indicative that we need specialised courts now more than ever. If terrorists can be tried speedily for their crimes, it would serve as a deterrent to those who might be tempted to toe that line. We have more than enough laws in the statute books that deal with the issue of terrorism but paradoxically very few convicts.
The challenges of modern governance require modern tools. Specialised courts are one of them. Hopefully, the 10th National Assembly would rise to the occasion and ensure a successful passage of the bill creating specialised courts.